We went to Paris! A few weeks removed from the trip, the thought still feels surreal. I’ve been dreaming of going to Paris for years and watching Epcot’s Impressions de France semiregularly pushed that dream along. A window opened up in our schedules and we quickly jumped on booking a trip for mid-February. With the holidays in between, the trip came on fast and all of a sudden we were standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, exploring The Louvre and walking through Disneyland Paris. We’ll cover all of that in this trip report and this installment will focus on our first few days in the city.

I’ll spare you the play-by-play of our 11 hour flight from LAX to Paris. I watched a bunch of movies, Melissa read. Neither of us really slept. We arrived in Paris in mid-afternoon although our tiredness didn’t make it feel so. Getting through immigration and customs was a breeze, buying a train ticket was less of a breeze but still easy enough and then we were on our way to our hotel. Those first few nights were spent at a nice hotel, just outside of the city, in Suresnes. It was a lovely place although I’d rather stay a little closer to Paris proper. We checked-in after an hour train ride, grabbed a quick snack next door and then decided to venture out.

I’ll let you decide if it was a great decision to start walking the 3+ miles from our hotel to the slightly visible Eiffel Tower after not sleeping for the last 24 hours. Maybe we were in a delirious state of both tiredness and excitement. But we were off! Most of the walk was though a public park named Bois de Boulogne that was beautiful, with lots of bikers despite the 30 degree weather. I forgot to mention that the long walk after being awake for 24 hours was in freezing temperatures. All the better!

The sun set and the darkness came in as we made our way out of the park into the streets of Paris. And yes, it was probably a silly decision to walk that far, partially in the dark, while so tired. But coming out of the park’s woods into the Parisian architecture was delightful. Then another mile down the road was the Eiffel Tower and I was in awe.

That night is kind of a blur for obvious, sleepy reasons. We went to a little Italian spot that was a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower after we had spent an appropriate amount of time gazing at the structure. I think the food was pretty good there. But even in a tired haze, I’ll never forget turning the corner and seeing the monument from across the river. Some things live up to the hype. It’s well worth traveling the world and walking a few miles (even if it’s not necessary) to see them.

After a good sleep and a cozy hotel breakfast that included all of the pastries and cheese that you might imagine, we were off again. I’d made a lunch reservation for early afternoon and we had some time to go explore the Pantheon before walking the 20 minutes to lunch.

I was bowled over by how beautiful the building was. That feels like a dumb thing to say about anything in Paris because, come on, of course they’re all beautiful. But I hadn’t read much of anything about the Pantheon leading up to the trip and just noticed it was conveniently on the way to lunch. The street leading to it perfectly framed the building and I loved the surrounding Latin Quarter.

We were out of time and needed to start walking to lunch but the Pantheon left such an impression that we vowed to come back later in the trip. You can read about that in our final installment of this trip report, likely to come out sometime in 2028 😉 Our stroll to lunch brought us past (dried out) fountains, exciting statues and more beautiful buildings.

L’Assiette was our lunch spot for the day. I had read about the restaurant on the Paris Eater website and was eager to try their French cuisine. It did not disappoint. Our main dishes were both excellent, Melissa ordered the house special cassoulet and I had veal with puff pastry. The place was quaint and charming, matching what I pictured a French restaurant to feel like it. L’Assiette’s biggest downside was that it’s in the 14th arrondissement, a little ways away from the city’s biggest attractions.

With very full stomachs, we headed back to the heart of the city. Stopping off in the 5th arrondissement for some coffee before moving along with our day. Seemingly everywhere we went in Paris was full of physical media, notably book stores. Even this coffee shop was full of magazines. A few minutes later we were in a specialty bookshop that featured photography and architecture books. I loved it!

We crossed the Seine and then walked along the bank for a few minutes. Being able to walk right along the water is one of those things that makes Paris so special. Seeing everyone walk, run or sit by it, soaking in the views, makes the river all the more inviting.

Moving up from the Seine, we walked through The Louvre’s courtyard. Being able to walk through all of these public spaces that are attached to very famous museums or landmarks was pretty novel to me. It’s very different from west coast living and even a bit different from Japan, the foreign country I’ve frequented the most. Japan has so much history to explore, but Tokyo and Kyoto aren’t as condensed as Paris was. You turn a corner in that city and you’re at The Louvre or standing in front of Notre Dame or in front of the Pantheon.

The afternoon saw us stopping in a fancy shopping and dining area, with a beautiful glass ceiling and chandeliers. I looked for a public restroom all over, and settled on a coffee shop where I bought a delicious cookie. The public restroom situation in Paris is not great.

After looking around a few stores, we took off toward Sacre Coeur in Montmartre. It was a little under an hour to walk there and we stopped frequently at different shops. I also stopped for photos over and over again.

During that walk, and really throughout the whole trip, I was struck by just how well the city was planned. Perfectly placed rows of trees were in more open spaces, tight alleys filled with shops are in another. No space is wasted but it never really felt overbearing and the scene was always picturesque.

After a refreshing drink at a little microbrewery in Montmartre, we braved the stairs leading to Sacre Coeur. We didn’t look as cool as John Wick making it up them. In fact, I’m not sure how he was able to accomplish what he did in that 4th film. I’m in halfway decent shape (while eating way too much) and I was huffing and puffing before getting to the top of those stairs. I was thrilled to be going up there because of the movie connection and knowing what awaited at the top. Melissa is less of a John Wick fan and I’m not sure that she appreciated the stairs as much.

There were still a few minutes before sunset so we took the time to go inside of the enormous Catholic Church. Entry was free and we only waited about 5 minutes to get in on a Saturday night. Sacre Coeur doesn’t have the artwork that Notre Dame features (more on that shortly) but is no less grand and stunning.

The brickwork has a castle feel to it and the detailing add reverence. Being the first of the Paris landmarks that we actually went inside, Melissa and I took some time to just sit and stare. There’s something about these cathedrals, churches and buildings that goes unspoken. Here’s a few more photos of the inside.

Back outside, the sun had set and the environment was lively. Directly below Sacre Coeur are stairs overlooking Paris. There were large groups of people hanging out here, playing music, talking to friends or just relaxing. There aren’t many better places in the world to sit and take in a view.

As I mentioned, Impressions de France has been very influential on my desire to travel to Paris. That whole day I was reminded of the short film, specifically the soundtrack. Paris is filled with these magnificent buildings, like Sacre Coeur, that are represented by that triumphant organ (Symphony No. 3 in C Minor by Camille Saint-Saëns)
at the end of the film. But there’s also quiet streets and mystery represented by Debussy’s Syrinx, L. 129. It’s all a bit pretentious, much like this analogy, but Paris doesn’t mind. Even though that short film was made over 40 years ago, I was amazed at how well the music still embodies the parts of France I was able to see.

We staggered back to our hotel that night, stopping at a Turkish place for dinner called Lecker. We walked about 23,000 steps that day and, after getting roughly 8 hours of sleep in 50 hours, I was completely exhausted. That was made even more evident when I woke up at about 2 AM and threw up the copious amounts of cheese, cream and bread I had that day. Sometimes you can overdo it on vacation! I was able to work my way back to sleep but we did decide to rest a little longer that next morning, keeping the day’s schedule pretty easy.

An easy day in Paris means that you still get to go to one of the most famous places on Earth though – Notre Dame. We had made a reservation for the cathedral earlier that weekend and didn’t want to miss it. By mid-morning I was starting to feel better so we left the hotel for a few hours to go experience all that Notre Dame had to offer. I’m so glad we did!

By the time we were there, I was feeling like myself although a little weaker. The entry process was easy, and also free! It feels redundant to keep saying how blown away I was by these places but Notre Dame exceeded all expectations. I could not get over how beautiful the inside of the church was. The straight ahead view made my jaw drop.

Walking the loop around the inside of Notre Dame showcases a number of smaller chapels. Each of them featured different artwork that was really striking. Each historic painting and stained glass was accompanied by a more modern piece of art. The one photographed above really stuck with me, but all were beautiful.

Of course, there is Notre Dame’s stained glass. I’ve never seen anything like it. For something so grand and glorious to also be so detailed and colorful is a nice encapsulation of the whole Notre Dame experience.

One of the chapels in the building was dedicated to the many workers, designers, engineers and donors who have helped the Notre Dame restoration after the 2019 fire. It was a nice touch by the church and a good reminder that we can all work together to make something beautiful, regardless of beliefs or politics.

If it wasn’t clear already, I was wowed by Notre Dame. I do not practice Catholicism but walking into sacred places like this give me perspective and, generally, a better outlook on life. It’s similar to how I feel about Fushimi Inari and different temples in Kyoto, despite not practicing Shintoism or Buddhism. There’s so much history abound, so many steps to walk in, and by the end I feel like I know my place at least a little better than before I got there.

The outside of Notre Dame is still under construction after the fires. That includes the bell towers, that I look forward to touring on a trip in the future.

While I was feeling better, I didn’t want to push my luck too much. I also wanted some soup! So we grabbed a crepe from a little cafe near Notre Dame to tide us over, walked through a couple of stores and then found a bowl of ramen that was delicious. We called it an early night and went back to the hotel to relax, with a long day ahead. That’s where we’ll pick up in part 2!

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